Newsletter

Milken Institute Public Health — Summer 2022

Public Health

Executive Director’s Note,

It’s been a busy few months since our inaugural newsletter!

Months of planning and preparation came together to create an incredible 25th Milken Institute Global Conference in early May. I was delighted to see many of you and to witness the “power of connection” in addressing the most pressing public health issues we face today, both during panel discussions and conversations that continued afterward. Whether you were there in person or watched the panels online, I hope you found them as timely, relevant, and thought-provoking as I did. If you missed the sessions in real time, they are available to view on our webpage, and I encourage you to read our Center for Public Health (CPH)-Focused Global Conference Recap below.

On June 2, we held our biannual CPH Advisory Board meeting. Our esteemed board’s knowledge and experience in public health help guide our programmatic work. The conversation included themes of reimagining public health infrastructure, addressing social determinants of health to prevent numerous public health issues, and recognizing health as a long-term investment. As always, I left our session with a renewed feeling of enthusiasm about the direction of our work. We thank our board members for their continued guidance.

In addition, we are excited to share our most recent report, Chronic Kidney Disease: Finding a Path to Prevention, Earlier Detection, and Management. For more information on this report and to learn about the accompanying “Roadmap,” please see our programmatic updates in the Programs at a Glance section of this newsletter.

Finally, I want to welcome the newest member of the CPH team, Erika Stratmann, director of communications for CPH and FasterCures. We are delighted to have Erika on board and look forward to her contributions as we continue to advance and amplify our work.

For more information on our Advisory Board, current projects, and recent reports, please continue reading. To stay up to date on the latest news and information from CPH, we invite you to connect with us on LinkedIn. We look forward to seeing many of you at our 2022 Future of Health Summit/Partnering for Patients Forum in Washington, DC, December 6-8.

Regards,

Esther Krofah
Executive Director
FasterCures and Center for Public Health
Milken Institute

Program Highlights

Health Equity

Building thriving communities and advancing health equity require improving the interrelated social and economic conditions at the root causes of health outcomes. This includes ensuring that health communication, access, and delivery reflect the needs, experiences, and unique characteristics of historically excluded people.

Prevention and Chronic Disease

This all-encompassing priority addresses how chronic diseases are understood and managed, how populations are impacted, and how issues related to infrastructure and financing can affect health and well-being.

Mental Health

To attain total health, we must normalize a “whole person” approach that prioritizes mental and physical health equally. We are working strategically with employers, as they are uniquely positioned to reach employees, their families, and the surrounding communities and can help them access evidence-based, innovative, inclusive prevention, treatment, and recovery resources to address mental health issues and addiction.

CPH-Focused Global Conference Recap

Below are summaries and quotes from the three thought-provoking CPH-led Global Conference panels, which featured leaders from the public and private sectors. Panelists discussed ways to advance health equity, sustain public health infrastructure, and improve mental health on a broader scale by leveraging the reach of employers. Click on the links below to view a video of each session.

Mental Health in ESG: Increasing Employer Value and Impact

Depression, isolation, and burnout, now at an all-time high, have further contributed to the addiction crisis, resulting in unprecedented overdose deaths in 2021. At a time when shareholders increasingly analyze companies' ESG metrics to identify risks and opportunities, it's imperative to make a human capital investment in employees' mental health. Panelists encouraged employers to invest in, prioritize, and destigmatize evidence-based mental health resources for their employees. Supporting employees' mental health could help organizations retain talent, increase economic impact, and bolster performance while keeping the workforce healthier and more satisfied.

Partnerships for Public Purpose: The New PPPs Transforming Public Health

The lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate that public health measures touch nearly all levels of society, creating a shared sense of mission with a partnership point of view. The private sector has already confirmed its role as an agent of public health in times of emergency. The new model of Partnerships for Public Purpose (PPP) evolves beyond traditional public-private partnerships, emphasizing sustainable, systemic impact with aligned goals and clearly defined roles to ensure the public good. This new PPP model is poised to prepare for and respond to future emergencies while strengthening our public health system in times of nonemergency. Moderated by CPH Advisory Board Member Judith Monroe, panelists explored the value proposition, the investment impact, and the role private-sector leaders might play as we rebuild public-health infrastructure and sustainably tackle system-level priorities in the US and around the world.

Advancing Social Policies for Public Health Equity and Well-Being

Nearly 80 percent of health outcomes are due to social determinants—the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age. Improving health outcomes by extending the social and economic policies enacted to meet the COVID crisis could be a powerful mechanism to achieve greater health equity. Expanding such social supports as direct payments and the child tax credit, and improving access to health services, SNAP, and WIC would reduce health disparities among communities most impacted by the pandemic and pay off in the long run. Panelists provided multiple perspectives on policies needed to reach health equity, examining the important roles played by community context, dignity, and sustainable funding mechanisms.

Programs at a Glance

Mental Health

Employers Prioritizing Mental Health: Collaboration with Leidos

The second meeting of the Action Group took place in March, and the next meetings will take place in September and November. In observance of National Mental Health Awareness Month in May, Leidos CEO Roger Krone spoke about our continued joint efforts to elevate and address mental health in the workplace in this LinkedIn piece. Work continues to take place behind the scenes, and we look forward to sharing insights at the Future of Health Summit in December.

Prevention and Chronic Disease

New Report–Chronic Kidney Disease: Finding a Path to Prevention, Earlier Detection, and Management

Chronic kidney disease (CKD)—a disease where the kidneys progressively fail over time—is a growing public health threat that exemplifies many of the shortcomings and inequities of the broader health-care system. CKD affects roughly 15 percent of the US population, with diabetes and hypertension being the most common causal factors in adults. With 9 of 10 Americans with CKD not knowing they have it, the disease is commonly known as a “silent killer.” The devastating effects of CKD especially manifest in low-income populations, historically underserved groups, and the elderly, highlighting the disease’s intricate ties with health equity as well as the social and structural determinants of health.

To address the hidden epidemic of CKD effectively, our nation must bolster its prevention, early detection, and management capabilities. There is an urgent need to develop and implement public health strategies to detect and diagnose CKD earlier and prevent its progression to kidney failure. In response, the Center for Public Health has recently completed a strategic initiative with engagement by a highly curated group of thought leaders and subject matter experts, including health-care providers and researchers, community leaders, community member advocates, business leaders, federal partners, and Milken Institute advisors, who informed this work with diverse perspectives and insights. We recently released an in-depth landscape analysis, key learnings, and actionable recommendations in a detailed report. Later this month, we will release an implementation roadmap that we will disseminate widely throughout the summer.

The report and roadmap outline eight opportunity areas with a total of 40 recommended actionable steps that six key audiences should take immediately to address the public health and health-care system needs related to CKD prevention and management. By shedding light on the growing public health issue of CKD and better understanding these areas and their intersection with CKD, we can identify practical, scalable solutions to help address and reduce the burden of CKD in the United States. For more Information about CPH's Chronic Kidney Disease Initiative, contact Sarah Wells Kocsis.

Health Equity

Health Equity Forum

In partnership with the National Civil Rights Museum, FasterCures and the Center for Public Health hosted a Health Equity Forum at the Museum in Memphis in June. The goal of the Health Equity Forum was to link key factors such as civil rights, social and economic mobility, education, and access to equitable, unbiased health care and medical research. The forum brought together those working locally with individuals and communities to improve health outcomes with those scaling equity approaches regionally or nationally.

What’s Ahead

Advances in Science Webinar Series

Advances in Science—July 21, Noon ET via Zoom

The Milken Institute’s FasterCures and the Center for Public Health are convening esteemed scientists and medical thought leaders for a monthly/bimonthly scientific overview session. Hosted by Robert W. Eisinger, the webinar series will probe key issues, lessons learned, and opportunities for transformation in health. Register for the upcoming session.

Save the Date

Asia Summit—September 28–30, Singapore
Middle East and Africa Summit—November 17–18, Abu Dhabi
Future of Health Summit—December 6–8, Washington, DC
Global Conference—April 30–May 3, 2023, Los Angeles

Staff Updates

We are delighted to introduce our newest team member, Erika Stratmann, director of communications for the Center for Public Health and FasterCures. Erika is a mission-driven communications leader with more than a decade of experience in strategic communications to advance consumer education, community engagement, and advocacy campaigns. Prior to joining the Institute, she worked at AARP Foundation, where she led marketing for Connect2Affect, a web-based platform that provides consumer resources to assess risk for social isolation and find local support services. She has a Bachelor of Social Work from West Virginia University and master’s degrees in social work and public administration from the University of South Carolina.